Transmission opportunity (txop) duration field disable setting in high efficiency signal a (he-sig-a)

ABSTRACT

Methods, computer readable media, and wireless apparatuses are disclosed for a TXOP duration field disable setting in a HE preamble, such as HE-SIG-A. An apparatus of a wireless device can include processing circuitry configured to decode a HE PPDU received from a second wireless device, the HE PPDU including a first TXOP duration field in a PHY portion of the HE PPDU. The processing circuitry can detect whether the TXOP duration field includes a disable flag based on bit values of the TXOP duration field. The disable flag can indicate absence of duration information in the TXOP duration field. Upon detecting the disable flag, a response HE PPDU can be encoded for transmission to the second wireless device. The response HE PPDU can include a second TXOP duration field with a disable flag within a PHY portion of the response HE PPDU.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/386,945, filed Dec. 21, 2016, which claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 USC 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/363,420, filed Jul. 18, 2016, titled “TRANSMISSION OPPORTUNITY (TXOP)DURATION FIELD DISABLE SETTING IN HIGH EFFICIENCY SIGNAL A (HE-SIG-A),”each of which application is incorporated herein by its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments pertain to wireless networks and wireless communications.Some embodiments relate to wireless local area networks (WLANs) andWi-Fi networks including networks operating in accordance with the IEEE802.11 family of standards. Some embodiments relate to IEEE 802.11ax.Some embodiments relate to methods, computer readable media, andapparatus for transmission opportunity (TXOP) duration field disablesetting in high efficiency (HE) signal A field (HE-SIG-A).

BACKGROUND

Efficient use of the resources of a wireless local-area network (WLAN)is important to provide bandwidth and acceptable response times to theusers of the WLAN. However, often there are many devices trying to sharethe same resources and some devices may be limited by the communicationprotocol they use or by their hardware bandwidth. Moreover, wirelessdevices may need to operate with both newer protocols and with legacydevice protocols.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which likereferences indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a WLAN in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a HE physical-layer convergence procedure (PLCP)protocol data unit (PPDU) including a transmission opportunity (TXOP)duration in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B illustrate methods for setting a disable flag for aTXOP duration field in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of example method for encoding aresponse HE PPDU based on a TXOP duration field disable flag inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of another example method for encodinga response HE PPDU based on a TXOP duration field disable flag inaccordance with some embodiments; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an example machine up on which anyone or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies) discussed herein mayperform.

DESCRIPTION

The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustratespecific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practicethem. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical,process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodimentsmay be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments.Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalentsof those claims.

FIG. 1 illustrates a WLAN 100 in accordance with some embodiments. TheWLAN 100 may comprise a basic service set (BSS) 100 that may include amaster station 102, which may be an AP, a plurality of high-efficiencywireless (e.g., IEEE 802.11ax) (HE) stations 104, and a plurality oflegacy (e.g., IEEE 802.11n/ac) devices 106.

The master station 102 may be an AP using the IEEE 802.11 to transmitand receive. The master station 102 may be a base station. The masterstation 102 may use other communications protocols as well as the IEEE802.11 protocol. The IEEE 802.11 protocol may be IEEE 802.11ax. The IEEE802.11 protocol may include using orthogonal frequency divisionmultiple-access (OFDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), and/orcode division multiple access (CDMA). The IEEE 802.11 protocol mayinclude a multiple access technique. For example, the IEEE 802.11protocol may include space-division multiple access (SDMA) and/ormultiple-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO). There may bemore than one master station 102 that is part of an extended service set(ESS). A controller (not illustrated) may store information that iscommon to the more than one master stations 102.

The legacy devices 106 may operate in accordance with one or more ofIEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ad/af/ah/aj/ay, or another legacy wirelesscommunication standard. The legacy devices 106 may be STAs or IEEE STAs.The HE STAs 104 may be wireless transmit and receive devices such ascellular telephone, portable electronic wireless communication devices,smart telephone, handheld wireless device, wireless glasses, wirelesswatch, wireless personal device, tablet, or another device that may betransmitting and receiving using the IEEE 802.11 protocol such as IEEE802.11ax or another wireless protocol. In some embodiments, the HE STAs104 may be termed high efficiency (HE) stations.

The master station 102 may communicate with legacy devices 106 inaccordance with legacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques. In exampleembodiments, the master station 102 may also be configured tocommunicate with HE STAs 104 in accordance with legacy IEEE 802.11communication techniques.

In some embodiments, a HE frame may be configurable to have the samebandwidth as a channel. The HE frame may be a PPDU.

The bandwidth of a channel may be 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or 80 MHz, 160 MHz,320 MHz contiguous bandwidths or an 80+80 MHz (160 MHz) non-contiguousbandwidth. In some embodiments, the bandwidth of a channel may be 1 MHz,1.25 MHz, 2.03 MHz, 2.5 MHz, 4.06 MHz, 5 MHz and 10 MHz, or acombination thereof or another bandwidth that is less or equal to theavailable bandwidth may also be used. In some embodiments the bandwidthof the channels may be based on a number of active data subcarriers. Insome embodiments the bandwidth of the channels is based on 26, 52, 106,242, 484, 996, or 2×996 active data subcarriers or tones that are spacedby 20 MHz. In some embodiments the bandwidth of the channels is 256tones spaced by 20 MHz. In some embodiments the channels are multiple of26 tones or a multiple of 20 MHz. In some embodiments a 20 MHz channelmay comprise 242 active data subcarriers or tones, which may determinethe size of a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). An allocation of a bandwidthor a number of tones or sub-carriers may be termed a resource unit (RU)allocation in accordance with some embodiments.

A HE frame may be configured for transmitting a number of spatialstreams, which may be in accordance with MU-MIMO and may be inaccordance with OFDMA. In other embodiments, the master station 102, HESTA 104, and/or legacy device 106 may also implement differenttechnologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA) 2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA 2000 Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), Interim Standard2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856(IS-856), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Global System for Mobilecommunications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSMEDGE (GERAN), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (WiMAX)), BlueTooth®, or other technologies.

Some embodiments relate to HE communications. In accordance with someIEEE 802.11 embodiments, e.g, IEEE 802.11ax embodiments, a masterstation 102 may operate as a master station which may be arranged tocontend for a wireless medium (e.g., during a contention period) toreceive exclusive control of the medium for an HE control period. Insome embodiments, the HE control period may be termed a transmissionopportunity (TXOP). The master station 102 may transmit a HE master-synctransmission, which may be a trigger frame or HE control and scheduletransmission, at the beginning of the HE control period. The masterstation 102 may transmit a time duration of the TXOP and sub-channelinformation. During the HE control period, HE STAs 104 may communicatewith the master station 102 in accordance with a non-contention basedmultiple access technique such as OFDMA or MU-MIMO. This is unlikeconventional WLAN communications in which devices communicate inaccordance with a contention-based communication technique, rather thana multiple access technique. During the HE control period, the masterstation 102 may communicate with HE stations 104 using one or more HEframes. During the HE control period, the HE STAs 104 may operate on asub-channel smaller than the operating range of the master station 102.During the HE control period, legacy stations refrain fromcommunicating. The legacy stations may need to receive the communicationfrom the master station 102 to defer from communicating.

In accordance with some embodiments, during the TXOP the HE STAs 104 maycontend for the wireless medium with the legacy devices 106 beingexcluded from contending for the wireless medium during the master-synctransmission. In some embodiments the trigger frame may indicate anuplink (UL) UL-MU-MIMO and/or UL OFDMA TXOP. In some embodiments, thetrigger frame may include a DL UL-MU-MIMO and/or DL OFDMA with aschedule indicated in a preamble portion of trigger frame.

In some embodiments, the multiple-access technique used during the HETXOP may be a scheduled OFDMA technique, although this is not arequirement. In some embodiments, the multiple access technique may be atime-division multiple access (TDMA) technique or a frequency divisionmultiple access (FDMA) technique. In some embodiments, the multipleaccess technique may be a space-division multiple access (SDMA)technique. In some embodiments, the multiple access technique may be aCode division multiple access (CDMA).

In some embodiments, the master station 102 can be referred to as a TXOPholder, while a HE STA 104 can be referred to as a TXOP responder.

The master station 102 may also communicate with legacy stations 106and/or HE stations 104 in accordance with legacy IEEE 802.11communication techniques. In some embodiments, the master station 102may also be configurable to communicate with HE stations 104 outside theHE TXOP in accordance with legacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques,although this is not a requirement.

In some embodiments the HE station 104 may be a “group owner” (GO) forpeer-to-peer modes of operation. A wireless device may be a HE station102 or a master station 102.

In some embodiments, the HE station 104 and/or master station 102 may beconfigured to operate in accordance with IEEE 802.11mc.

In example embodiments, the HE station 104 and/or the master station 102are configured to perform the methods and functions described herein inconjunction with FIGS. 1-6.

FIG. 2 illustrates a HE physical-layer convergence procedure (PLCP)protocol data unit (PPDU) 200 including a transmission opportunity(TXOP) duration 214 in accordance with some embodiments.

The PPDU 200 includes a legacy preamble 206, a HE preamble 208, a mediaaccess control (MAC) layer portion 210, and a frame check sequence (FCS)212.

The legacy preamble 206 may include one or more of the following fields:legacy short-training fields (STFs) (L-STF), legacy long-training fields(LTFs) (L-LTFs), legacy signal fields (L-SIGs), and etc. The legacypreamble 206 may indicate that the PPDU is an HE PPDU.

The HE preamble 208 may include one or more of the following fields: HEsignal fields (e.g., HE-SIG-A, repeated HE-SIG-A, HE-SIG-B, HE-SIG-C),HE-STFs, HE-LTFs, etc. The HE preamble 208 may include a TXOP durationfield 214. Some HE PPDUs 200 that include the MAC 210, may also includea MAC duration field 216.

The MAC duration field 216 may be 16 bits. The TXOP duration 214 may befewer bits than the MAC duration 216. The TXOP duration 214 may be 15bits to 2 bits. In some embodiments, the TXOP duration 214 is 7 bits.The TXOP duration 214 may be part of a HE-SIG-A field. The TXOP duration214 field and the MAC duration 216 field have different granularitiesand may have different ranges. For example, MAC duration 216 may be 15bits with a range of 0 to 32,000 μs and a granularity of 1 μs. Asanother example, the TXOP duration 214 may be 7 bits with a range from 0to 256 μs with a granularity of 8 μs. As another example, the TXOPduration 214 may be 7 bits with a range from 0 to 8 ms with granularityof 256 μs. In some embodiments, the TXOP duration 214 field is termed aduration field, which may be in the HE-SIG-A preamble portion of the HEPPDU 200.

In some embodiments, TXOP duration 214 field includes a first field thatis an integer for the duration and a second field that indicates agranularity of the duration. In some embodiments, a constant may beadded to the TXOP duration 214 field. In some embodiments, the TXOPduration 214 field includes a third field that indicates whether aconstant should be added to the value indicated by the TXOP duration214.

In some embodiments, the TXOP duration 214 is not required to set up anentire TXOP limit. TXOP limit may be the maximum amount of time a masterstation 102 and/or HE station 104 may have a TXOP. In some embodiments,the TXOP duration 214 begins after the transmission of the HE PPDU 200that includes the TXOP duration 214.

In an example, the TXOP duration 214 in the HE preamble 208 can be usedfor network allocation vector (NAV) setting. More specifically, the TXOPduration 214 can be used to indicate a time duration during which an STAreceiving the HE PPDU 200 can refrain from transmission (i.e., the timeduration can start from the end of reception of the HE PPDU 200 and canlast for the TXOP duration 214). In another example, NAV setting can beindicated to a receiving station using the MAC duration 216 in the MACportion 210 of the PPDU 200.

In an example, due to the limited number of bits in the HE preamble 208,7 bits may be allocated to the TXOP Duration field 214, which is lessthan the bits allocated to the MAC duration field 216 (e.g., 16 bits) inthe MAC header 210 for NAV setting. As a result, in some instances, theTXOP Duration field 214 may not be able to indicate duration informationthat requires more than 7 bits, which may result in over-protection orless protection when NAV settings are set using the TXOP duration field214.

To resolve this issue, in an example embodiment, a disable flag can bereserved in the TXOP duration field 214 to indicate no durationinformation is contained in the HE preamble 208. For example, in someembodiments, the TXOP duration 214 may indicate that it does not includeduration information by setting the TXOP duration field 214 bits to all1's or all 0's (i.e., setting the disable flag) to indicate that theTXOP duration 214 does not carry duration information and the TXOPduration field is disabled.

In some embodiments, the TXOP duration 214 may have a different numberof bits depending on the type of the HE PPDU 200. For example, in someembodiments a HE PPDU 200 that is a HE trigger based (TB) PPDU may havea same number of bits as the MAC duration 216 to match the range andgranularity of the MAC duration 216, e.g., 15 bits compared to 7 bitsfor a HE single user (SU) PPDU or a HE multiple user (MU) PPDU. Therange of the MAC duration 216, in some embodiments, is 32 ms.

In some embodiments, the master station 102 is configured to set the MACduration 216 and/or TXOP duration 214 to an end of a TXOP, which mayinclude multiple exchanges of HE PPDUs 200 between the master station102 and the HE stations 104. In these embodiments, the granularity ofthe TXOP duration 214 may have to be large to accommodate the largerange which may result in other stations deferring for longer thannecessary.

In some embodiments, network allocation vector (NAV) protection (as setby the TXOP duration 214 or the MAC duration 216) can be cancelled bysending a contention-free (CF)-End frame, which may take approximately40 μs, which may be time consuming. If a master station 102 sends aCF-End it may only clear the NAVs around the master station 102 and notNAVs that were set by HE stations 104 (e.g., that were communicatingwith the master station 102) that were not reachable by the masterstation 102.

Wireless devices, e.g., master stations 102 and/or HE stations 104 mayuse the TXOP duration 214 and/or MAC duration 216 to determine whetherto set network allocation vectors (NAVs) and defer accessing thewireless medium.

The FCS 212 may include a checksum to detect corruption of the PPDUduring transmission. The HE PPDU 200 may be a HE single user (SU), HE SUextended range (ER), HE multiple user (MU), or HE TB PPDU. In someembodiments, the HE PPDU 200 may be a different type of HE PPDU 200.

In some embodiments, the HE preamble 208 may include a color field (notillustrated) that indicates a BSS of the transmitting wireless device,e.g., master station 102 or HE station 104. Some wireless device, e.g.,master stations 102 or HE stations 104, may decode the HE preamble 208that includes the color field and determine that they do not need todecode the MAC layer portion 210 of the HE PPDU 200. The master stations102 or HE stations 104 may use the TXOP duration 214 to determinewhether or not to set one or more network allocation vectors (NAVs),which, in some embodiments, is termed a virtual carrier sense (CS). TheTXOP duration 214 being placed in the HE preamble 208 so that the masterstations 102 or HE stations 104 do not have to decode the MAC 210 mayconserve resources of the master stations 102 and/or HE stations 104,e.g., it may conserve power by not having to decode the MAC layerportion 210 of the HE PPDU 200.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B illustrate methods for setting a disable flag for aTXOP duration field in accordance with some embodiments. Referring toFIG. 3A, there is illustrated time 302 along a horizontal axis andtransmitter/receiver 304 along a vertical axis. The master station 102can be the TXOP holder, and the HE STA 104.1 can be the TXOP responder.The method 300 may start when the TXOP holder 102 transmits a HE PPDU306. The HE PPDU 306 can include a HE PHY preamble portion 308 and a MACportion 310 (for simplicity, only the PHY and MAC portions of the HEPPDU 306 are illustrated in FIG. 3A).

The HE PHY preamble 308 can include a TXOP duration field 309, which canbe 7 bits. In an example, the TXOP holder 102 can set a disable flag bysetting all bits of the TXOP duration field 309 to 1 (as seen in FIG.3A). Even though the TXOP duration field 309 is illustrated as includingonly 7 bits, other bit sizes can also be used.

The PPDU 306 can be used by the TXOP holder 102 to solicit a response.For example, the PPDU 306 can be a trigger frame, soliciting a triggerframe response by the TXOP responder (e.g., STA 104.1). In an example,in instances when the PPDU that solicits the response is a HE PPDU(e.g., 306), the TXOP duration field 309 in the HE PPDU can be set to adisable flag (e.g., by setting all bits of the TXOP duration field 309to 1s). The TXOP responder (e.g., 104.1) can respond with a HE PPDU 312,which includes a HY PHY preamble 314 and a MAC preamble 316.Additionally, the TXOP responder 104.1 can use the same disable flag ascommunicated by the TXOP holder 102 in its own response. Consequently,the TXOP responder 104.1 can set the disable flag in the response PPDU312 by setting all bits of the TXOP duration field 318 to 1s.

Referring to FIG. 3B, there is illustrated a method 318, which issimilar to the method 300 of FIG. 3A, except the disable flag in theTXOP holder's PPDU 306 is not set. More specifically, the TXOP durationfield 309 does not include (or does not use) a set disable flag (asindicated at 320). Put another way, the bits of the TXOP duration field309 are not all set to 1s, as illustrated in FIG. 3A where the disableflag was set. In this case, the TXOP responder 104.1 will also not use adisable flag in the TXOP duration field 318 (e.g., as indicated by 322).

In an example, the TXOP holder 102 can transmit the HE PPDU 306 as atrigger frame. The TXOP responder 104.1 can respond with a response PPDU312, which can be a HE TB PPDU. In an example, the PPDU 306 sent by theTXOP holder 102 can be an HE extended range (ER) PPDU, and the responsePPDU from the TXOP responder 104.1 can be a HE ER SU PPDU. Other typesof PPDUs can be used as well, to indicate presence (or absence) of adisable flag for the TXOP duration field.

In an example, the TXOP holder 102 can send a HE PPDU 306 to initiatethe TXOP, and also use a disable flag for the TXOP duration field 309.In this case, a BSS color field of the HE PHY preamble (e.g., HE-SIG-Apreamble) 308 can be set to a reserved BSS color (e.g., BSS Color=0)such that HE STAs (e.g., 104.1) that receives the HE PPDU 306 mustdecode the MAC portion 310 of the HE PPDU 306. The MAC portion 310 canbe decoded so that the receiving station 104.1 can still obtain NAVsettings (e.g., using MAC duration in the MAC preamble 310) in order toset NAV.

In an example, the TXOP holder 102 can use signaling within the MACportion 310 of the PPDU 306 to indicate whether or not a disable flagshall be used in the TXOP duration field of the responding HE PPDU(e.g., 312). Some examples of signaling in the MAC portion are providedherein below.

In an example, if the soliciting PPDU (e.g., 306) contains a triggerframe, then one bit in the common info field of the trigger frame can beused as the signaling.

In an example, if the soliciting PPDU (e.g., 306) contains a triggerframe, then one bit in the type dependent common info field of thetrigger frame can be used as the signaling.

In an example, if the soliciting PPDU (e.g., 306) contains a triggerframe, then one bit in the per user info field of the trigger frame canbe used as the signaling.

In an example, if the soliciting PPDU (e.g., 306) contains a triggerframe, then one bit in the type dependent per user info field of thetrigger frame can be used as the signaling.

In an example, if the soliciting PPDU (e.g., 306) does not contain atrigger frame, then one bit in the HE Aggregated (HE-A) control field inthe MAC header of the soliciting PPDU can be used for the signaling.

In an example, a signal can be added to the MAC header (e.g., 310) ofthe soliciting PPDU (e.g., 306) to determine the value in the TXOPduration field (e.g., 318) of the responding HE PPDU (e.g., 312). Someexamples of signaling in the MAC portion are provided herein below.

In an example, if the soliciting PPDU (e.g., 306) contains a triggerframe, then the TXOP duration field (e.g., 318) in the responding PPDUcan be indicated in the common info field of the trigger frame.

In an example, if the soliciting PPDU (e.g., 306) does not contain atrigger frame, then the TXOP duration field (e.g., 318) in theresponding PPDU can be indicated in the HE A-control field in the MACheader of the soliciting PPDU (e.g., 306).

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of example method for encoding aresponse HE PPDU based on a TXOP duration field disable flag inaccordance with some embodiments. Referring to FIG. 4, the examplemethod 400 may start at 402, when a high efficiency (HE) physical-layerconvergence procedure (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) received at afirst wireless device from a second wireless device can be decoded. Forexample, a first wireless device (e.g., TXOP responder 104.1) canreceive the HE PPDU 306 from a second wireless device (e.g., TXOP holder102). The HE PPDU (e.g., 306) can include a first transmissionopportunity (TXOP) duration field (e.g., 309) in a physical-layer (PHY)portion (e.g., 308) of the HE PPDU. At 404, it may be determined whetherthe TXOP duration field includes a disable flag. For example, suchdetermination may be performed based on bit values of the TXOP durationfield (e.g., 309). For example, the disable flag can be consideredpresent (or set) when all bits of the TXOP duration field are set to 1.The disable flag (when set or present) indicates absence of durationinformation in the TXOP duration field (e.g., 309). Upon detecting thedisable flag, at 406, a response HE PPDU (e.g., 312) can be encoded fortransmission to the second wireless device. The response HE PPDU caninclude a second TXOP duration field (e.g., 318) with a disable flagwithin a PHY portion (e.g., 314) of the response HE PPDU. For example,the disable flag within the response PPDU 312 can be set by setting allbits of the TXOP duration field 318 to 1s.

At 408, upon determining that the TXOP duration field (e.g., 309) doesnot include the disable flag, the response HE PPDU (e.g., 312) can beencoded for transmission to the second wireless device (e.g., 102),where the response HE PPDU includes a TXOP duration field (e.g., 318)within the PHY portion of the response HE PPDU (e.g., 312), with theTXOP duration field (e.g., 318) being without the disable flag.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of another example method for encodinga response HE PPDU based on a TXOP duration field disable flag inaccordance with some embodiments. Referring to FIG. 5, the examplemethod 500 may start at 502, when a high efficiency (HE) physical-layerconvergence procedure (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) (e.g., 306)received at a first wireless device (e.g., TXOP responder 104.1) from asecond wireless device (e.g., TXOP holder 102) can be decoded. The HEPPDU (e.g., 306) can include a first transmission opportunity (TXOP)duration field (e.g., 309) in a physical-layer (PHY) portion (e.g., 308)of the HE PPDU. At 504, the first wireless device (e.g., TXOP responder104.1) can determine the first TXOP duration field (e.g., 309) does notinclude a disable flag indicating absence of duration information in theTXOP duration field. For example, the determining can be based on bitvalues of the first TXOP duration field not being equal (or not beingequal to a pre-determined value, such as 1). At 506, upon detectingabsence of the disable flag, the first wireless device (e.g., TXOPresponder 104.1) can encode a response HE PPDU (e.g., 312) fortransmission to the second wireless device (e.g., TXOP holder 102). Theresponse HE PPDU (e.g., 312) can include a second TXOP duration field(e.g., 318) within a PHY portion (e.g., 314) of the response HE PPDU,the second TXOP duration field without the disable flag.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an example machine 600 up on whichany one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies) discussed hereinmay perform. In alternative embodiments, the machine 600 may operate asa standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to othermachines. In a networked deployment, the machine 600 may operate in thecapacity of a server machine, a client machine, or both in server-clientnetwork environments. In an example, the machine 600 may act as a peermachine in peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) networkenvironment. The machine 600 may be a master station 102, HE station104, personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a smart phone, aweb appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machinecapable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifyactions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a singlemachine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken toinclude any collection of machines that individually or jointly executea set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more ofthe methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software asa service (SaaS), other computer cluster configurations.

Examples, as described herein, may include, or may operate on, logic ora number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangibleentities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations andmay be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In an example,circuits may be arranged (e.g., internally or with respect to externalentities such as other circuits) in a specified manner as a module. Inan example, the whole or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., astandalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardwareprocessors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g.,instructions, an application portion, or an application) as a modulethat operates to perform specified operations. In an example, thesoftware may reside on a machine readable medium. In an example, thesoftware, when executed by the underlying hardware of the module, causesthe hardware to perform the specified operations.

Accordingly, the term “module” is understood to encompass a tangibleentity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, specificallyconfigured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transitorily)configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or toperform part or all of any operation described herein. Consideringexamples in which modules are temporarily configured, each of themodules need not be instantiated at any one moment in time. For example,where the modules comprise a general-purpose hardware processorconfigured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor may beconfigured as respective different modules at different times. Softwaremay accordingly configure a hardware processor, for example, toconstitute a particular module at one instance of time and to constitutea different module at a different instance of time.

Machine (e.g., computer system) 600 may include a hardware processor 602(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit(GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a mainmemory 604 and a static memory 606, some or all of which may communicatewith each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 608. The machine 600 mayfurther include a display device 610, an input device 612 (e.g., akeyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 614 (e.g., amouse). In an example, the display device 610, input device 612 and UInavigation device 614 may be a touch screen display. The machine 600 mayadditionally include a mass storage (e.g., drive unit) 616, a signalgeneration device 618 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 620,and one or more sensors 621, such as a global positioning system (GPS)sensor, compass, accelerometer, or other sensor. The machine 600 mayinclude an output controller 628, such as a serial (e.g., universalserial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared(IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate orcontrol one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader,etc.). In some embodiments the processor 602 and/or instructions 624 maycomprise processing circuitry and/or transceiver circuitry.

The storage device 616 may include a machine readable medium 622 onwhich is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 624(e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of thetechniques or functions described herein. The instructions 624 may alsoreside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 604,within static memory 606, or within the hardware processor 602 duringexecution thereof by the machine 600. In an example, one or anycombination of the hardware processor 602, the main memory 604, thestatic memory 606, or the storage device 616 may constitute machinereadable media.

While the machine readable medium 622 is illustrated as a single medium,the term “machine readable medium” may include a single medium ormultiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/orassociated caches and servers) configured to store the one or moreinstructions 624.

An apparatus of the machine 600 may be one or more of a hardwareprocessor 602 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combinationthereof), a main memory 604 and a static memory 606, some or all ofwhich may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 608.

The term “machine readable medium” may include any medium that iscapable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution bythe machine 600 and that cause the machine 600 to perform any one ormore of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated withsuch instructions. Non-limiting machine readable medium examples mayinclude solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. Specificexamples of machine readable media may include: non-volatile memory,such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically ProgrammableRead-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-OnlyMemory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such asinternal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; RandomAccess Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples,machine readable media may include non-transitory machine readablemedia. In some examples, machine readable media may include machinereadable media that is not a transitory propagating signal.

The instructions 624 may further be transmitted or received over acommunications network 626 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 620 utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols(e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission controlprotocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet datanetwork (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellularnetworks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless datanetworks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family ofstandards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, a LongTerm Evolution (LTE) family of standards, a Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P)networks, among others.

In an example, the network interface device 620 may include one or morephysical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or moreantennas to connect to the communications network 626. In an example,the network interface device 620 may include one or more antennas 660 towirelessly communicate using at least one of single-inputmultiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), ormultiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. In some examples, thenetwork interface device 620 may wirelessly communicate using MultipleUser MIMO techniques. The term “transmission medium” shall be taken toinclude any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding orcarrying instructions for execution by the machine 600, and includesdigital or analog communications signals or other intangible medium tofacilitate communication of such software.

Various embodiments may be implemented fully or partially in softwareand/or firmware. This software and/or firmware may take the form ofinstructions contained in or on a non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium. Those instructions may then be read and executed by oneor more processors to enable performance of the operations describedherein. The instructions may be in any suitable form, such as but notlimited to source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executablecode, static code, dynamic code, and the like. Such a computer-readablemedium may include any tangible non-transitory medium for storinginformation in a form readable by one or more computers, such as but notlimited to read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magneticdisk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory, etc.

The following examples pertain to further embodiments.

Example 1 is an apparatus of a wireless device comprising: memory; andprocessing circuitry coupled to the memory, the processing circuitryconfigured to: decode a high efficiency (HE) physical-layer convergenceprocedure (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) received from a secondwireless device, the HE PPDU comprising a first transmission opportunity(TXOP) duration field in a physical-layer (PHY) portion of the HE PPDU;detect whether the TXOP duration field comprises a disable flag based onbit values of the TXOP duration field, the disable flag indicatingabsence of duration information in the TXOP duration field; and upondetecting the disable flag, encode a response HE PPDU for transmissionto the second wireless device, the response HE PPDU comprising a secondTXOP duration field with a disable flag within a PHY portion of theresponse HE PPDU.

In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 optionally includeswherein to detect whether the TXOP duration field comprises the disableflag, the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine thefirst TXOP duration field comprises a plurality of bits, each of theplurality of bits of the first TXOP duration field having a bit value of1 to indicate the absence of the duration information in the first TXOPduration field.

In Example 3, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-2optionally include wherein the disable flag in the second TXOP durationfield is the same as the disable flag in the first TXOP duration field.

In Example 4, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-3optionally include wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to: determine the first TXOP duration field does not comprisethe disable flag based on the bit values of the first TXOP durationfield not being equal.

In Example 5, the subject matter of Example 4 optionally includeswherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: upondetermining that the first TXOP duration field does not comprise thedisable flag, encode the response HE PPDU for transmission to the secondwireless device, the response HE PPDU comprising the second TXOPduration field within the PHY portion of the response HE PPDU, thesecond TXOP duration field without the disable flag.

In Example 6, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-5optionally include wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to: decode a MAC header in a MAC-layer portion of the HEPPDU, wherein the MAC header comprises a signaling bit to indicate thedisable flag is to be used in the second TXOP duration field of theresponse HE PPDU.

In Example 7, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-6optionally include wherein the physical-layer portion of the HE PPDU isa high-efficiency (HE) signal (SIG) A field (HE-SIG-A).

In Example 8, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-7optionally include bits.

In Example 9, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-8optionally include wherein the HE PPDU is one from the following group:a HE single user (SU) PPDU, a HE SU extended range (ER) PPDU, a HEmultiple user (MU) PPDU, or a HE trigger based (TB) PPDU.

In Example 10, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-9optionally include access point.

In Example 11, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-10optionally include wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to: configure the wireless device to transmit the HE PPDU inaccordance with one or both of orthogonal frequency division multipleaccess (OFDMA) or multiple-user multiple-input multiple-output(MU-MIMO).

In Example 12, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 1-11optionally include transceiver circuitry coupled to the processingcircuitry; and, one or more antennas coupled to the transceivercircuitry.

Example 13 is a method performed by a wireless device, the methodcomprising: decoding a high efficiency (HE) physical-layer convergenceprocedure (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) received from a secondwireless device, the HE PPDU comprising a first transmission opportunity(TXOP) duration field in a physical-layer (PHY) portion of the HE PPDU;determining the first TXOP duration field does not comprise a disableflag indicating absence of duration information in the TXOP durationfield, the determining based on bit values of the first TXOP durationfield not being equal; and upon detecting absence of the disable flag,encoding a response HE PPDU for transmission to the second wirelessdevice, the response HE PPDU comprising a second TXOP duration fieldwithin a PHY portion of the response HE PPDU, the second TXOP durationfield without the disable flag.

In Example 14, the subject matter of Example 13 optionally includeswherein the physical-layer portion of the HE PPDU is a high-efficiency(HE) signal (SIG) A field (HE-SIG-A).

In Example 15, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 13-14optionally include wherein the HE PPDU is a trigger frame, and theresponse HE PPDU is a high efficiency trigger-based PPDU (HE TB PPDU).

Example 16 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium thatstores instructions for execution by one or more processors, theinstructions to configure the one or more processors to cause anapparatus of a wireless device to: encode a high efficiency (HE)physical-layer convergence procedure (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU),wherein: the HE PPDU includes a transmission opportunity (TXOP) durationfield in a physical-layer (PHY) portion of the HE PPDU, withoutincluding a media access control (MAC) duration field in a MAC-layerportion of the HE PPDU; and the TXOP duration field includes a disableflag based on equal bit values of the TXOP duration field, the disableflag indicating absence of duration information in the TXOP durationfield; and configure the wireless device to transmit the HE PPDU toanother wireless device.

In Example 17, the subject matter of Example 16 optionally includes toindicate the absence of the duration information in the TXOP durationfield.

In Example 18, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 16-17optionally include wherein the one or more processors further cause theapparatus of the wireless device to: encode a basic service set (BSS)color field within the HE PPDU with a reserved BSS color value, thereserved BSS color value indicating to a receiving wireless station todecode the HE PPDU.

In Example 19, the subject matter of Example 18 optionally includes

In Example 20, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 18-19optionally include wherein the BSS color field is within ahigh-efficiency (HE) signal (SIG) A field (HE-SIG-A) of thephysical-layer portion of the HE PPDU.

In Example 21, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 16-20optionally include wherein the one or more processors further cause theapparatus of the wireless device to: encoding signaling within theMAC-layer portion of the HE PPDU, the signaling indicating to areceiving wireless station that a disable flag shall be used within aTXOP duration field of a response HE PPDU transmitted by the receivingwireless station.

In Example 22, the subject matter of Example 21 optionally includeswherein the HE PPDU comprises a trigger frame and the signaling is asingle bit within a common info field of the trigger frame.

In Example 23, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 21-22optionally include wherein the HE PPDU comprises a trigger frame and thesignaling is a single bit within a trigger dependent common info fieldof the trigger frame.

In Example 24, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 21-23optionally include wherein the HE PPDU comprises a trigger frame and thesignaling is a single bit within a per user info field of the triggerframe.

In Example 25, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 21-24optionally include wherein the HE PPDU comprises a trigger frame and thesignaling is a single bit within a type dependent per user info field ofthe trigger frame.

In Example 26, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 21-25optionally include wherein the HE PPDU does not comprises a triggerframe and the signaling is a single bit within a high efficiency Action(HE-A) control field of the HE PPDU.

In Example 27, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 21-26optionally include wherein the HE PPDU comprises a trigger frame and thesignaling is a plurality of bits within a common info field of thetrigger frame.

In Example 28, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 21-27optionally include wherein the HE PPDU does not comprises a triggerframe and the signaling is a plurality of bits within a high efficiencyAction (HE-A) control field of the HE PPDU.

Example 29 is a wireless device, comprising: means for encoding a highefficiency (HE) physical-layer convergence procedure (PLCP) protocoldata unit (PPDU), wherein: the HE PPDU includes a transmissionopportunity (TXOP) duration field in a physical-layer (PHY) portion ofthe HE PPDU, without including a media access control (MAC) durationfield in a MAC-layer portion of the HE PPDU; and the TXOP duration fieldincludes a disable flag based on equal bit values of the TXOP durationfield, the disable flag indicating absence of duration information inthe TXOP duration field; and means for configuring the wireless deviceto transmit the HE PPDU to another wireless device.

In Example 30, the subject matter of Example 29 optionally includes toindicate the absence of the duration information in the TXOP durationfield.

In Example 31, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 29-30optionally include means for encoding a basic service set (BSS) colorfield within the HE PPDU with a reserved BSS color value, the reservedBSS color value indicating to a receiving wireless station to decode theHE PPDU.

In Example 32, the subject matter of Example 31 optionally includes

In Example 33, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 31-32optionally include wherein the BSS color field is within ahigh-efficiency (HE) signal (SIG) A field (HE-SIG-A) of thephysical-layer portion of the HE PPDU.

In Example 34, the subject matter of any one or more of Examples 29-33optionally include means for encoding signaling within the MAC-layerportion of the HE PPDU, the signaling indicating to a receiving wirelessstation that a disable flag shall be used within a TXOP duration fieldof a response HE PPDU transmitted by the receiving wireless station.

In Example 35, the subject matter of Example 34 optionally includeswherein the HE PPDU comprises a trigger frame and the signaling is asingle bit within a common info field of the trigger frame.

The above detailed description includes references to the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part of the detailed description. The drawingsshow, by way of illustration, specific embodiments that may bepracticed. These embodiments are also referred to herein as “examples.”Such examples may include elements in addition to those shown ordescribed. However, also contemplated are examples that include theelements shown or described. Moreover, also contemplated are examplesusing any combination or permutation of those elements shown ordescribed (or one or more aspects thereof), either with respect to aparticular example (or one or more aspects thereof), or with respect toother examples (or one or more aspects thereof) shown or describedherein.

The above description is intended to be illustrative, and notrestrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one or moreaspects thereof) may be used in combination with others. Otherembodiments may be used, such as by one of ordinary skill in the artupon reviewing the above description. The Abstract is to allow thereader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. Itis submitted with the understanding that it will not be used tointerpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Also, in theabove Detailed Description, various features may be grouped together tostreamline the disclosure. However, the claims may not set forth everyfeature disclosed herein as embodiments may feature a subset of saidfeatures. Further, embodiments may include fewer features than thosedisclosed in a particular example. Thus, the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with a claim standing on itsown as a separate embodiment. The scope of the embodiments disclosedherein is to be determined with reference to the appended claims, alongwith the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. Section 1.72(b)requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to ascertain the natureand gist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with theunderstanding that it will not be used to limit or interpret the scopeor meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporatedinto the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as aseparate embodiment.

1. (canceled)
 2. An apparatus of a high-efficient station (HE STA)comprising: memory; and processing circuitry coupled to the memory, theprocessing circuitry configured to: decode a high efficiency (HE)physical-layer convergence procedure protocol data unit (HE PPDU)received from an access point (AP), the received HE PPDU comprising atransmission opportunity (TXOP) duration parameter, the received HE-PPDUcomprising a trigger frame soliciting a response, determine if the TXOPduration parameter of the received HE PPDU indicates durationinformation for network allocation vector (NAV) setting or if the TXOPduration parameter is set to indicate no duration information; if theTXOP duration parameter is set to indicate no duration information, theprocessing circuitry is configured to refrain from updating a NAV of theHE STA; if the TXOP duration parameter indicates duration information,the processing circuitry is configured to update the NAV of the HE STAbased on the duration information indicated by the TXOP durationparameter; and encode a HE trigger-based (TB) PPDU for transmission tothe AP in response to the received HE PPDU, wherein the processingcircuitry is to set a TXOP duration parameter of the HE TB PPDU toindicate no duration information if the TXOP duration parameter of thereceived HE PPDU was set to indicate no duration information, andwherein the processing circuitry is to set the TXOP duration parameterof the HE TB PPDU based on the TXOP duration parameter of the receivedHE PPDU if the TXOP duration parameter of the received HE PPDU indicatedduration information.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the TXOPduration parameter of the received HE PPDU is a physical-layer (PHY)layer parameter.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the received HEPPDU comprises a HE signal A field (HE-SIG-A), and wherein a value ofthe TXOP duration parameter of the received HE PPDU is indicated in aTXOP field of the HE-SIG-A.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein if theTXOP duration parameter of the received HE PPDU is set to indicate noduration information, the duration information is unspecified, andwherein the processing circuitry is configured to refrain from updatingthe NAV of the HE STA.
 6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein if the TXOPduration parameter of the received HE PPDU is set to indicate noduration information, the NAV is disabled.
 7. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the memory is configured to store an indication of the TXOPduration parameter of the received HE PPDU.
 8. The apparatus of claim 2further comprising transceiver circuitry coupled to the processingcircuitry.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising two or moreantennas coupled to the transceiver circuitry configured formultiple-input multiple output (MIMO) communication.
 10. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructionsfor execution by processing circuitry of a high-efficient station (HESTA) to configure the HE STA to: decode a high efficiency (HE)physical-layer convergence procedure protocol data unit (HE PPDU)received from an access point (AP), the received HE PPDU comprising atransmission opportunity (TXOP) duration parameter, the received HE-PPDUcomprising a trigger frame soliciting a response, determine if the TXOPduration parameter of the received HE PPDU indicates durationinformation for network allocation vector (NAV) setting or if the TXOPduration parameter is set to indicate no duration information; if theTXOP duration parameter is set to indicate no duration information, theprocessing circuitry is configured to refrain from updating a NAV of theHE STA; if the TXOP duration parameter indicates duration information,the processing circuitry is configured to update the NAV of the HE STAbased on the duration information indicated by the TXOP durationparameter; and encode a HE trigger-based (TB) PPDU for transmission tothe AP in response to the received HE PPDU, wherein the processingcircuitry is to set a TXOP duration parameter of the HE TB PPDU toindicate no duration information if the TXOP duration parameter of thereceived HE PPDU was set to indicate no duration information, andwherein the processing circuitry is to set the TXOP duration parameterof the HE TB PPDU based on the TXOP duration parameter of the receivedHE PPDU if the TXOP duration parameter of the received HE PPDU indicatedduration information.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 10 wherein the TXOP duration parameter of the receivedHE PPDU is a physical-layer (PHY) layer parameter.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein thereceived HE PPDU comprises a HE signal A field (HE-SIG-A), and wherein avalue of the TXOP duration parameter of the received HE PPDU isindicated in a TXOP field of the HE-SIG-A.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein if the TXOPduration parameter of the received HE PPDU is set to indicate noduration information, the duration information is unspecified, andwherein the processing circuitry is configured to refrain from updatingthe NAV of the HE STA.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 10 wherein if the TXOP duration parameter of thereceived HE PPDU is set to indicate no duration information, the NAV isdisabled.
 15. An apparatus of an access point (AP) comprising: memory;and processing circuitry coupled to the memory, the processing circuitryconfigured to: encode a high efficiency (HE) physical-layer convergenceprocedure protocol data unit (HE PPDU) for transmission to an HE station(HE STA), the transmitted HE PPDU comprising a transmission opportunity(TXOP) duration parameter, the transmitted HE-PPDU comprising a triggerframe soliciting a response, wherein the processing circuitry isconfigured to: set the TXOP duration parameter of the transmitted HEPPDU to indicate duration information for network allocation vector(NAV) setting by the HE STA or set the TXOP duration parameter toindicate no duration information; decode a HE trigger-based (TB) PPDUreceived from the HE STA in response to the transmitted HE PPDU, whereina TXOP duration parameter of the HE TB PPDU is set to indicate noduration information if the TXOP duration parameter of the transmittedHE PPDU was set to indicate no duration information, and wherein theTXOP duration parameter of the HE TB PPDU is set based on the TXOPduration parameter of the transmitted HE PPDU if the TXOP durationparameter of the transmitted HE PPDU indicated duration information. 16.The apparatus of claim 15, wherein to disable the NAV of the HE STA, thewherein the processing circuitry is configured to set the TXOP durationparameter to indicate no duration information.
 17. The apparatus ofclaim 16 wherein the TXOP duration parameter of the received HE PPDU isa physical-layer (PHY) layer parameter.
 18. The apparatus of claim 16wherein the received HE PPDU comprises a HE signal A field (HE-SIG-A),and wherein a value of the TXOP duration parameter of the received HEPPDU is indicated in a TXOP field of the HE-SIG-A.
 19. The apparatus ofclaim 16 wherein if the TXOP duration parameter of the received HE PPDUis set to indicate no duration information, the duration information isunspecified, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured torefrain from updating the NAV.
 20. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein ifthe TXOP duration parameter of the received HE PPDU is set to indicateno duration information, the NAV is disabled.
 21. The apparatus of claim15, wherein the memory is configured to store an indication of the TXOPduration parameter of the received HE PPDU.